Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The Tucumcari Public Schools board of education voted 4-1 last week on a contract extension for its longtime superintendent that will keep him in the district through July 2024. Aaron McKinney, who has been Tucumcari schools superintendent for 15 years, did not receive a raise from his current pay of about $120,000 a year during the board’s regular meeting June 21. However, the board granted him use of a Chevrolet Suburban from the district’s fleet he can use for commuting and district-based travel. The board voted on the extension after nea...
The contracted director of senior citizen centers in Tucumcari and Logan said she has set a tentative reopening date of Aug. 2 for both facilities — almost 18 months after they closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clara Rey said she still was mentally digesting new guidelines she received received Friday morning about the proposed reopening of the Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center. Despite Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s announcement in mid-June to lift all health restrictions on July 1, Rey said its not that simple with senior cen...
LOGAN - Nearly 20 people - about half of them children - participated in a mask-burning event Saturday morning to protest those mandates for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tonya Perez, who organized the event in front of the Cowboy Chuckwagon restaurant along U.S. 54, said she was prompted to organize the protest after hearing a rumor that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will require schoolchildren to wear masks during the next school year. "Hopefully, this will put a stop to the masks,"...
The new president at Mesalands Community College spent much of last week’s regular board of trustees meeting giving a detailed, 14-page report on his activities since May 18 — to the appreciation of several board members. College President Gregory Todd Busch, who took office May 1, indicated during the June 15 meeting that such reports would be a regular occurrence because he wanted to foster “transparency.” Busch also gave a similarly detailed report during his first regular meeting with the board in May. Later in the meeting, board member...
ALBUQUERQUE - The Logan girls track team captured its second consecutive state title and the Longhorns boys team finished a close runner-up during the Class 1A track and field state championships Thursday at the UNM Track-Soccer Complex. The Lady Longhorns scored 79 points, prevailing over area rival and runner-up Melrose's 59 points. Gateway Christian finished third with 58. San Jon earned two points among the 23 girls teams that figured in the scoring. Logan's team title was fueled by strong...
One of the principals for Coronado Partners that seeks a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari told the Quay County Commission on Monday his group would be “more assertive” in pressing its case for a sixth license from the New Mexico Racing Commission. Warren Frost of Logan, who also is county attorney, told commissioners his group recently submitted a revised application to the racing commission for the required license. The proposed Coronado Park racetrack and casino on Tucumcari’s east side would create 500 jobs and millions of dolla...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees unanimously approved a three-year contract with its new president, Gregory Todd Busch, during a special meeting Thursday. The vote followed a 45-minute closed executive session to discuss personnel matters. According to information provided after the meeting by Mesalands chief marketing officer Josh McVey, Busch will be paid $170,000 annually — the same as predecessor John Groesbeck, who was fired in April 2020 after less than two years on the job. Busch’s contract was effective May 1, the sam...
Tucumcari's city manager revealed to the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board during its meeting last week a late-stage draft of a new official city seal that likely will be implemented next month. The city seal is being designed by Leighton Moon, the same Alamogordo firm that designed the city's tourism logo late last year. City Manager Mark Martinez said the seal, which he showed to board members from a laptop computer during their regular meeting Wednesday, eventually will be incorporated into city...
SANTA ROSA - Six Tucumcari athletes were crowned district champions Saturday during the District 4-3A meet at Santa Rosa High School, including three who won two championships apiece. Khobie Salvador, a junior, continued his seasonlong strong performances in the discus throw and shot put. He hurled the shot 43 feet, more than 13 feet longer than his next-best competitor. He threw the discus 116-11 1/2, more than 40 feet longer than the runner-up. Based on his best performances this season,...
LOGAN - Logan's baseball team exacted revenge after its first loss of the season earlier in the week with a doubleheader sweep Friday of Gateway Christian. In the first game, the Longhorns came from behind with an 11-run fourth inning during a 17-9 victory. In the nightcap, Logan staked an early 7-0 lead and held on for the 11-9 win. The Longhorns improved to 12-1 overall. Gateway Christian, which won a state title in 2019, fell to 8-4. Both teams have a good chance of facing each other again du...
Tucumcari’s city manager recommended the city’s Lodgers Tax Advisory Board change its application processes for financial assistance requests to events and tourist attractions after acknowledging last month’s funding process was “rushed.” A split Tucumcari City Commission on May 27 adopted significant changes urged by City Manager Mark Martinez on funding contributions for festivals and tourism sites two days after the lodgers tax board issued its recommendations. At least two board members said Wednesday they initially were taken aback by...
Despite recent rainstorms that raised the level of Conchas Lake, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors voted again last week to not allocate water for its irrigation system because lake levels still are too low. Franklin McCasland said in his manager’s report during the June 8 board meeting the lake’s elevation stood at 4,159.8 feet that day — more than 10 feet lower than a year ago. McCasland reported Conchas Lake received 4,840 acre-feet of inflow during the month of May. In that time frame, it experienced evaporation or ot...
SAN JON — San Jon Municipal Schools soon will receive more than $258,000 from the third round of federal coronavirus relief. Finding ways to spend in an allotted time is proving to be a challenge for the district’s superintendent. Superintendent Janet Gladu said during the board’s meeting Thursday the district soon will receive $172,278.89 in federal money, then another $86,139.44 later. It must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024. Gladu said 20% of those funds — or $43,069 — must be spent to alleviate learning loss suffered by students during th...
It took about a year longer than expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic and needed renovations to his facility, but Pacheco Family Dentistry in Tucumcari opened to the public last week. Dr. Matthew Pacheco, a Tucumcari native and graduate of Eastern New Mexico University, said he and his staff fielded a flurry of phone calls at his 501 S. Second St. clinic since opening Wednesday. Pacheco Family Dentistry occupies the building used by Dr. Bernard Fitzner for nearly 50 years. Getting the...
LOGAN - The Longhorns baseball team ran its record to 10-0 after a doubleheader sweep Friday against Cimarron. Aided by the strong pitching of starter Gabe Milakovich and reliever Kaeden Stoner, Logan breezed to a 17-0 victory in the first game. Logan continued its strong pitching with a one-hitter by Dante Sanchez during a 23-0 win in the second game. Cimarron fell to 1-6. Logan's stout pitching was not a surprise, as the team's ERA for the season is a minuscule 0.89. Coach Kyle Griffiths said...
One East Mountain player in particular made life difficult for the Tucumcari softball team during its district-opening doubleheader last week. Fireballing sophomore pitcher Olivia Ford threw a no-hitter and hit a three-run home run during the Timberwolves' 16-0 victory, then blasted two more three-run homers during her team's 24-5 victory in the nightcap. Ford nearly hit a third homer during the second game, but Tucumcari left fielder Felicity Lopez caught it against the fence, then tumbled...
Coronado Partners, which for more than a decade has sought a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari, last week submitted a revised application to the New Mexico Racing Commission and urged the agency to award a sixth license to begin the project. Logan attorney Warren Frost, one of the principals behind the Coronado Park proposal, on Thursday emailed a copy of the application to officials with Quay County, the city of Tucumcari, villages of Logan and San Jon and the Greater Tucumcari...
A total of six candidates have applied for the Quay County magistrate judge position, ranging from a retired state police officer to a Carlsbad police detective to a current Tucumcari municipal judge. The Quay County Sun received information about the candidates Thursday after filing an open-records request with Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office. The candidates’ applications for the position were lightly redacted to withhold sensitive information such as birth date, home address, Social Security and driver’s license numbers, perso...
LOGAN - Kambry Burns' valedictorian speech during Logan High School's graduation ceremony Saturday morning at the school's football field was a fairly typical one - until she got to the part she sneaked into the text. Her voice shaking with emotion, Burns voiced a tribute to her mother, Crystal, who began her career at Logan as a student teacher when Kambry was in kindergarten and now is the school's principal, and her father, Billy, a Logan teacher and athletic director. "Mom, you started your...
Largely following the city manager’s recommendations, the Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Board during a special meeting May 25 split contributions to events and entities during the coming fiscal year between its promotional fund and executive fund. The city commission later in the week approved some of the recommendations, with more money allotted to some requests and less to others. The board also may revisit funding requests in September and recommend more money to events when an anticipated surge in hotel tax funds this summer is more apparent by t...
RIO RANCHO – Four Tucumcari wrestlers took home medals during Thursday's Class 3A state championships at the Rio Rancho Events Center, including the highest-finishing Rattler who appeared to be a surprise on paper. Isiah Garcia, a freshman in the 113-pound weight class, was the only Tucumcari wrestler to advance to the state finals despite sporting an unimpressive-looking 2-6 record before Thursday. Garcia wrestled much of the condensed season at a higher weight class. Once he slimmed to 113 l...
The East Mountain baseball team racked up 32 hits during a 41-0 district victory May 25 over host Tucumcari. A hobbled Rattlers squad burned through four pitchers during the game. The Timberwolves seized a 14-0 lead after two innings, then added 12 runs in the third and 11 in the fifth before the game was called by the mercy rule. “This team was a good-hitting team,” Tucumcari coach Dennis Dysart said. “Everything we threw up there, they hit. It wasn’t like our pitchers were having trouble. It’s just they were hitting the ball and finding t...
No one will ever accuse the Tucumcari softball team of being timid on the base paths. The Lady Rattlers kept taking extra bases on hits, wild pitches, passed balls and even stole a few bases to fuel a 27-12 home victory over Clayton on May 25 that was shortened by the mercy rule. Clayton starting pitcher Alexa Vigil gave Tucumcari a lot of advantages by walking 16, hitting four batters and throwing six wild pitches. The Lady Rattlers (2-6) spotted Clayton (0-3) a 4-0 lead in the first inning on...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a preliminary budget of $15.08 million for the upcoming fiscal year that includes $1-an-hour pay increases for county employees. The budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year must be submitted to the state by June 1, and the county commission will approve a final budget by July. The previous year’s preliminary budget was $16.16 million. Finance Director Cheryl Simpson said “I feel comfortable” with the proposed budget. The pay increases, she said, rewards employees who continued to work at the court...
Gregory Todd Busch presided over his first regular meeting of the Mesalands Community College board of trustees on May 18, less than three weeks after he took over as president of the institution. The meeting was held by videoconference as they have for more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Busch still was in Arizona during the meeting, and he said from the time he was offered a contract in late April he would do his work for Mesalands remotely for several weeks. Busch said he and his wife, Mary Beth Busch, were moving to...